Police shoot and kill suicidal woman armed with knives in Mundelein, Lake County authorities say

Police shot and killed a suicidal woman armed with two knives after she allegedly approached officers inside a home on Monday evening in north suburban Mundelein, according to Lake County authorities.

Shortly before 6 p.m., officers responded to a report of a suicidal woman inside a home in the 1100 block of Ashford Drive in Mundelein, according to the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

A relative told police the woman was suicidal and wanted police to kill her.

When officers arrived at the home, the woman was sitting on the back patio, and as police were talking to her relative, the woman suddenly stood up and approached the rear sliding door of the home with two large knives.

"The female started yelling and aggressively opened the sliding door and began to enter the residence," according to the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

An officer inside the home shot the woman, who was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where she was pronounced dead. She was identified as 37-year-old Mary Alice Love, of Mundelein. An autopsy by the Lake County Coroner's Office determined she died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Neighbor Karen Minorini said it's a very quiet neighborhood, so she was surprised to hear four gunshots go off around 6 p.m.

"We have a gun range over here in Hainesville, and it crackles when they shoot at the range, but this was very close, and it was just a distinct, 'Pop, pop, pop, pop,'" she said.

The officer who shot Love was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

One of the woman's loved ones told CBS News Chicago they are navigating through their grief, and trying to understand how this happened.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, helps teach police departments best practices in a situation like this, and said, "With the right training, supervision, and so forth, they can be prevented."

Wexler said, in calls involving a person undergoing a mental health crisis, it's important that the dispatcher gather as much information as possible and to connect officers with the caller before they arrive on scene. He said, once officers arrive on the scene, it's important to keep their distance from the person in distress so they can de-escalate the situation.

"If someone pulls a knife and then an officer feels threatened … that threat is minimized to some degree by the distance they are and the cover that they assume," Wexler said.

The Mundelein Police Department's policy does not say anything about how to respond based on the type of weapon a person in distress might have, but a source said officers do receive additional crisis intervention training, a 40-hour course.

Mundelein police said they are cooperating with the investigation, and the officer who shot Love has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Police said they will release all video and audio evidence from the shooting "following the completion of key investigative steps and interviews."

"Our thoughts remain with the family of the deceased, the involved officer, and everyone affected by this incident. We recognize the significant impact this event has had on all those involved and on the broader community," Mundelein police said in a statement.